


The Love

by koenigs_bambina



Series: Well, That's New [3]
Category: Fallout (Video Games), Fallout 4
Genre: F/M, Fluff and Angst, Happy Ending, Implied/Referenced Suicide
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-04
Updated: 2019-03-04
Packaged: 2019-11-09 03:45:45
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,787
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17994251
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/koenigs_bambina/pseuds/koenigs_bambina
Summary: Cherry and Deacon finally take down the Institute. But with such a big move comes a very big reaction."Deacon sighed deeply and stepped back, sunglasses securely returned to the bridge of his nose. “Whatever you say, boss. But I’m rushing those lollygaggers out of here and coming back for you, so don’t get comfortable.”Cherry held her palms up in surrender. “Consider me warned.” "





	The Love

The strange thing about watching an explosion from an aerial view is the ability to view the devastation with incredible clarity. Nothing blocks your sights as you stare down at the decrepit ruins of the city you called home, bursting into thousands of pieces, crumbling into a hole in the ground. There is no commotion on the ground, distracting your attention; no call from a loved one begging for you to seek shelter. There is simply the uninhibited destruction, a slight blowback from the blast, and the sinking numbness of guilt as your hand slips from the button.

Well… maybe it wasn’t as strange as it was incredibly traumatic. 

“And so the mighty have fallen.”

Cherry turned towards the sound of Desdemona’s voice. She was standing next to her with a look of unfathomable relief and respect on her face.

“Dozens of years, countless sacrifices. It all paid off, thanks to you.”

_ Thanks to you. Your son and so many others are dead because of you.  _ There was a phantom blow in Cherry’s chest, and the inevitable panic began to rear its ugly head. She tried to keep her cool as much as possible, but she could feel the pain seeping into her expression.

“Deacon says this was his plan all along,” Desdemona cut in suddenly, perhaps in an attempt to cut the tension… or maybe she was too jazzed to realize how crippling this experience had been for her agent.

Cherry’s blank gaze slid over to Deacon, watching as he beamed, dusting off his new Institute lab coat like it was a prize. “Maybe it was.”

“Charmer…” Desdemona leaned forward with a soft sympathy in her eyes that Cherry had rarely seen before. But she couldn’t stand to be pitied. Especially not by the woman who had led the crusade against her son.

Cherry shook her head and stepped back. Dez grimaced in response, yet relented. Though she was a fierce, confident leader, she knew when it was time to lay off of her agents. With a tight nod a turn on her heel, she left Cherry to mourn on her own.

At least for five seconds, before Deacon took her place. 

On any normal day, Cherry would have been thrilled. Her heart would have filled with joy at the sight of that goofy man she loved so much. But today was not a normal day. It was the worst day Cherry had experienced since she had entered the Wasteland. 

“So…. yeah, we did that,” Deacon began slowly, gaze trailing off to the smoking rubble in the distance. Even with the afternoon light fading into twilight, it was still clear how massive and incredible the destruction had been. 

For a moment, Cherry could see her own guilt reflected in his expression; the worry that they might have done something differently— saved more people. But this had only been her crusade for a short while. For Deacon, it had been over ten years of pain, endless work, and the promise of retribution. So, of course his regrets faded quickly, and with a shake of his head, he broke out into a grin.

“Yeah! Institute’s gone, synth’s saved, and… we’re both alive.” He reached out and stroked her cheek lovingly. And Cherry gave a small smile that she hoped would placate his sentimentality. He cocked his brow at her for a moment, but just as Des had, he decided to let it go. 

Deacon let his hand fall from her cheek and clapped his hands together with excitement. “So what’s the encore, Charmer?”

“Have any ideas?” She responded flatly, her minimal attempt at seeming okay not quite reaching her voice.

Deacon deflated slightly at her tone, but kept going nonetheless. When in doubt, do a bit. It was how he prevented a depressive episode after everything he’d been through, and normally it helped Cherry get her mind off of things, but this time it was different. 

“We start our own band,” he continued with flare, “‘Saviors of the Commonwealth!’ I always wanted groupies!”

He finished with lighthearted chuckle, but it had no effect on his partner. Cherry was slipping  _ fast.  _ She wasn’t even bothering to look at him anymore; her eyes were glazed over with a faraway look. 

Deacon grimaced. He knew to expect this, but he had hoped that it would wait until they were alone, at home; where he could hold her tight and comfort her, tell her that sometimes the good guys have to do things that make them feel like the bad ones. He would tell her that Shaun may have been her blood, but he wasn’t her family anymore… that  _ he  _ was.

But they weren’t alone yet, and Deacon needed to do something before she broke. And then it hit him. All that time spent in the recesses of Boston Public Library, combing through the debris, he remembered reading something he found important at the time.

“Some dusty old philosopher thought people were made of metals, that defined their character.” He leaned in and lifted her chin, whispering his next words with the utmost sincerity. “And you, my friend, are solid gold. Now, let’s go kick some ass.”

Cherry stepped forward in response and pressed a loving kiss to Deacon’s lips, holding the sides of his face as if he were the most delicate thing she had ever touched.

She felt the nervous tension spike in his body with the obvious romantic contact. Though they were sure that pretty much everyone in the Railroad knew about the nature of their relationship, they made it a point not to actually confirm it. Especially not with Des around. But as they all knew, this was a very different day.

Deacon relaxed after a moment and broke the kiss to pull Cherry into a deep embrace.

“You go on ahead and make the rounds. I’m going to hang back and take a moment to myself.”

Deacon hesitated, holding onto Cherry’s waist as though she would float away if he let go. But he knew well enough that after something like this, some people needed to be left alone. God knows how long he kept to himself after Barbara. On the other hand, he also knew how close he came to taking himself off the board when he was on his own. But Charmer wouldn’t do that-- she was too strong, too selfless to leave them-- leave  _ him _ \-- in the wake of their victory.

Still, he remained for a moment more. His hands unwillingly released his partner’s body, finding a new home with one cupping her cheek, and the other gripping the side of his sunglasses. 

With a quick glance to make sure no one else was watching, he slipped the glasses down to search her eyes.

Deacon regularly took down his defenses when they were together, but rarely in public. He only did that when he was genuinely worried for Charmer’s safety. 

Cherry leaned into his touch and gave him the first real smile she had that day. “Deacon, go ahead. I’ll meet up with you when everyone heads back to HQ.” 

Deacon sighed deeply and stepped back, sunglasses securely returned to the bridge of his nose. “Whatever you say, boss. But I’m rushing those lollygaggers out of here and coming back for you, so don’t get comfortable.”

Cherry held her palms up in surrender. “Consider me warned.” 

Deacon beamed, then, seemingly satisfied with the outcome of their conversation. He gave her a light squeeze on the shoulders and spun away, ducking into the shell of the penthouse. 

And then Cherry was fully alone for the first moment of the day. 

For a few minutes, she just stood. Staring into the lit-up building, watching rejoicing agents dance in the quickly fading light. Cherry tried hard to ground herself, forcing the images in front of her to focus; but the harder she tried, the more they blurred-- replaced by flashes of everyone that had died because of her. Eventually, the flashes turned to clear pictures of scientists, doctors… her son. 

Cherry collapsed back against the wall as Shaun’s distinguished grey hair turned back to the wispy red of her baby boy, encased in the arms of her husband. 

_Nate._ When was the last time she had even thought about Nate? This damn crusade she had been on-- a crusade to kill _their_ _son_ and everything he had worked for… she had forgotten her husband in the midst. 

Her panicked breathing came out in a staggered sob that built into a full-blown panic attack. 

“ _ No.”  _ She croaked, sliding her hands up to press against her temples, attempting to squeeze the images of her lost family from her mind. “No no no no.” The thoughts held fast, relentlessly forcing Nate and Shaun into every corner of her consciousness. “ _ Please.” _

And then, a new image came into view, ripping the ghosts from her vision.

“Hey, you’re alright… you’re going to be alright, Cherry.”

Deacon was kneeling in front of her, concern etching lines into his forehead as he gripped her shoulders. 

“Deacon, it’s my fault. They’re all dead and it’s my fault,” she managed between hyperventilating, choking on the sobs in her throat.

“You did what you had to do,” he soothed, jumping from her best friend to the Railroad’s top agent in a second flat. “You saved the Commonwealth— you’re a hero.”

“No.”

“Yes, you are!” He insisted, tone taking a slight edge. He hated that she felt like this. She had done so much for everyone around her. Cherry took out the biggest boogeyman in the Wasteland, and saved them all. It was horrible to be responsible for so much death, he knew that— but they had all been a bunch of bastards. Strangers with nothing on their minds than how quickly they could surpass God. The world would be better off without—

“My  _ son. _ ”

Deacon’s internal monologue stopped right in its tracks. 

“I  _ murdered  _ my  _ son. _ ” She continued, voice clear despite the still falling tears.

Deacon’s jaw clenched so tightly that he could feel his teeth straining under the pressure. He had forgotten about her son. 

Her entire reason for surviving in this shitshow of a world was gone… and it was because she got involved in the Railroad. Because she was so capable and driven. She could see the greater good of saving the synths, and they cashed in on that. Instead of helping her work with Shaun to reach a happy future for them all, Deacon and his whole band of vigilantes shaped her into a weapon that was aimed at the heart of her only son. 

Deacon tried to speak-- to apologize to her for the whole fucked up mess. But no words would come. He just stared painfully into Cherry’s eyes, hoping his own reflected the empathy he had for her. 

Cherry shook her head, tears subsiding. “Deacon, I know that synths deserve to be free. Please believe that. But I just don’t know if what we did was right. Shaun was going to die-- but I cut short the end of his life and took out countless others in one fell swoop. I’m not a hero. I’m a terrorist.” 

“Fuck!” he burst out, stepping up to his full height. Deacon stared down at her distraught face for a moment before pushing his glasses up and rubbing the heels of his hands against his exhausted eyes. 

They had both been through so much. They deserved rest. They deserved  _ one fucking moment  _ of peace. 

A few minutes passed in tense silence. And then Cherry spoke in a quiet voice, “Deacon, I’m 200 years past my expiration date. I should never have been able to effect so much change on the Commonwealth.  _ Shaun  _ should never have been able to turn the Institute into what it was. And now that he’s been taken off the board… maybe it’s time I leave, as well.”

“What!?” Deacon burst out, whipping back around to see Cherry pulling herself to her feet.

“To level the playing field!” 

“So, you’re just gonna kill yourself so that the world will be ‘set right’ again That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard!” Deacon was getting more and more frantic with each word, his naked eyes spiking with tears.

“Deacon! That’s not what I meant!” Cherry exclaimed, catching his face in her hands to stop his panicked flailing. “Deacon, I’m not going to  _ kill _ myself. I would never do that to you.” 

His eyes focused on her face. The face she wore was earnest; confirming that she wasn’t just placating him for the moment. But the fear and adrenaline was still running rampant in Deacon’s veins. So he did what he always did when he needed to ground himself. Deacon pulled Cherry in for a body-crushing embrace that shocked the breath out of her; pulling back after a moment, only to catch her mouth with a kiss twice as passionate.

After they were both thoroughly panting, Deacon rested his forehead against hers. “Don’t ever scare me like that again. I love you too much for that shit.” 

Cherry made a sound like she had been socked in the stomach and pulled back from their entanglement.

“What?”

“That’s the first time you’ve said that.” Cherry explained, trying to stifle the giddy laughter that was bubbling in her chest. They had been through every human emotion in the past hour, but this had by far been the strongest she had felt the entire day.

“Oh,” Deacon offered lamely, rubbing the back of his neck. “I guess it was.” 

He took a moment to stare, confused, into the distance. Then, snapping his gaze back to Cherry, he pulled her back against his chest. “I’m sorry. I should have said it a long time ago. I should have told you how much I loved you every day since you stumbled out of that vault.” 

“You don’t have to apologize, Deacon. We were more than a little preoccupied—- And... I know how hard it is for you to open up.”

He shook his head, his eyes falling back to the same vague spot in the Commonwealth. “It’s not that. I’ve never been unsure about anything with you around. It’s just… Barbara.”

Cherry waited patiently for him to organize his thoughts, stroking his arm in encouragement. It took a few beats, but eventually Deacon cleared his throat to continue.

“She was always at the back of my mind when I started to get all warm and fuzzy about you. But now… she’s not.” He explained, shrugging the sentence off with a conflicted look. “I guess I hadn’t realized how much of this crusade was for  _ her. _ She was my driving force for so long, and now that we’ve beat the Institute… It’s kind of like she’s finally gone. At peace.” He nodded at Cherry earnestly. “I know what you mean about moving on, about leaving.”

Cherry nodded with a kind smile. “The Commonwealth doesn’t need this dynamic duo anymore. We’ve planted the seeds— it’s their turn to work the land.”

Deacon scrunched his face up at the farming metaphor, “you’ve been spending  _ way  _ too much time with the Minutemen.” 

“Hey, they may be naïve, but Preston is probably the best person we could leave in charge of this new world order.”

He rolled his eyes but relented, “he and Curie can do some amazing things for everyone if we give them the right pointers.”

“My sentiments exactly.”

Deacon spun them so the skyline was directly in their line of sight, his arm hanging casually over Cherry’s shoulder. “Where does that leave us, then?”

A new grin split across her face, images of their new life flashing before her eyes. “I was thinking of somewhere we both had history. But a simpler, more wholesome history…”

Deacon squinted at her, obviously unable to connect the dots she laid out.

After a moment, she continued with a playful prod at his ribs “...California?”

“Oh boy,” Deacon began, shaking his head, “you’re lucky I love you, because I vowed to leave that beach bum lifestyle in my childhood.”

“Come on, it’ll be fun to be back in the sunshine state!” Cherry encouraged with a kiss to his jaw, “let’s reclaim our roots.”

Deacon groaned theatrically before turning his head to reciprocate her affection. He placed a kiss on the top of her head and sighed, “alright, alright. Let’s go stir the pot on the West Coast.”

Cherry pulled Deacon in for one more passionate kiss to seal the deal. Then, without sparing a glance at the now-dark city, the two saviors took off into the night, leaving the Commonwealth to relax into the first free night it had had for a very long time. 

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> I finally finished the trio of Deacon and my Sole Survivor!
> 
> I know this one is a bit harsher and less sexy, but I saw it as a good end to their story!
> 
> Hopefully, you think so too!  
> Let me know in the comments what you liked/what I can improve!
> 
> And always, please leave kudos if you enjoyed it!!!!!
> 
> Also, thank you Kat for being my beta and editor!
> 
> My tumblr: koenigs-bambina.tumblr.com


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